Sleeping Beauty Syndrome
by DizzyDrea
Summary: Only one who loves and is loved truly and well can break the sleeper from the spell…
1. Chapter 1

Title: Sleeping Beauty Syndrome  
Author: DizzyDrea  
Summary: Only one who loves and is loved truly and well can break the sleeper from the spell…  
Rating: PG  
Spoilers: Takes place in Season 8, after Icon. References to Divide and Conquer and Window of Opportunity from Season 4, and Chimera from Season 7.  
Author's Notes: I love Sleeping Beauty—like Jack, I prefer the Disney version to the Grimm Brothers'. I thought it would be interesting to explore the idea of a modern Sleeping Beauty, and what that might imply for what Sam assumes is true for her life. So, here you go.  
Disclaimer: Stargate and all its particulars is the property of MGM, Gekko, Double Secret, Acme Shark and a lot of other people who aren't me. I am doing this for fun and for practice. Mostly for fun.

~&O&~

"Okay, campers, what's on the agenda for today?" General Jack O'Neill asked as he practically bounced into the briefing room. Dropping into his chair at the head of the table, he looked around expectantly at the faces of his premier team.

The members of SG-1, Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter, Doctor Daniel Jackson and Teal'c, stared back at him, mystified by his good mood.

Shaking her head, Sam was the first to rouse herself. "Well, sir, we've got the MALP telemetry back from P3J-998. We're picking up elevated energy readings that have a Goa'uld signature."

"Big honkin' space gun?" Jack asked hopefully.

"There's also a large obelisk near the gate, and the UAV showed a temple structure of some sort about a mile from the gate," Daniel said, ignoring Jack's question. "The writing on the obelisk indicates the planet belongs to Astarte."

"I'm guessing this Starter chick is a Goa'uld," Jack said, turning to Teal'c for confirmation.

"Indeed," Teal'c said. "She was a minor system lord in the service of Ba'al."

"Makes sense. Both Baal and Astarte are part of the Phoenician pantheon," Daniel said.

"She still around?" Jack asked.

"She has not been heard from in some time, though there is some disagreement as to her ultimate fate," Teal'c said.

"It's possible she gained enough power that he felt threatened by her," Daniel said. "He'd have no choice but to eliminate her."

"Either that or she attacked another Goa'uld under Ba'al's orders and was killed in battle," Sam said.

"Uh huh," Jack said, eyes glazing over. "Is there a point in here somewhere?"

"Sir, the planet appears to have been abandoned; there's no sign of recent activity near the gate. We'd like to go check it out. See if we can figure out the source of the energy readings," Sam said. "There might be something there we can use."

"Let's hope it's a big honkin' space gun," Jack said, earning wry smirks from everyone at the table. "Take Dr. Lee with you."

"But sir—"

"Aht," Jack said, raising his finger to cut off Sam's protest. "Number one, alien power sources are Bill's bailiwick, and number two, I know how you are when you get your hands on an alien doohickey. I need you focused on this mission. You don't know for sure if Starter and her minions have really abandoned the planet."

"Bailiwick, Jack?" Daniel asked, his eyebrow raising in a perfect imitation of Teal'c.

"It's a word," Jack said, defending himself.

"Yes, it's a word," Daniel said, "but not one I thought you knew."

"Daniel," Jack said, the warning clear in his tone.

"Sorry," Daniel said, ducking his head.

"Now, if there's nothing else?" Jack asked, glancing around the table. "Good. You'll leave at 0800 tomorrow. Dismissed."

Sam jumped out of her chair as Jack rose and ambled back to his office.

"So, do you want to tell Bill, or shall I?" Daniel asked Sam. At her grimace of displeasure, he said, "Right, I'll go break the news. Teal'c?"

Teal'c inclined his head towards Sam and followed Daniel out of the room. Sam stood a moment longer, thinking over what the General had said. She did tend to focus a little too well when dealing with alien technology. If her primary responsibility was the safety of her team, trying to figure out an alien power source would divide her attention, and she might not be alert to any danger until it was too late.

Sighing at how transparent she had become to her teammates—and former teammates—she shrugged and headed for her lab to prepare for the coming mission.

~&O&~

"Well, the perimeter is clear," Sam said, returning to the team. "I didn't see any other structures, so it's a good bet this planet is uninhabited."

Upon arriving on the planet, they had discovered that the obelisk wasn't the source of the energy readings. They'd followed the power readings straight to the temple structure. That had surprised them, because the energy readings were strong at the gate, meaning whatever was causing them had to be powerful.

"From the looks of things here, I'd say this place has been deserted for a while," Daniel said, looking around at the evidence of abandonment.

The temple was little more than a large three sided building with a great stone altar in the middle. There was a fine sheen of sand on every surface, probably blown in from the desert landscape beyond the entry, and the architecture was crumbling in places. The path they had followed showed no signs of having been used recently. The sand was undisturbed, and what grass there was had grown over, nearly obscuring the path from the gate. Sam and Teal'c had still walked the perimeter to be sure, and having found no other signs of life had returned to the temple.

All three walls of the interior of the temple were inscribed with a complex series of glyphs, and Daniel had already identified them as being Goa'uld in origin. He had immediately busied himself with recording all three walls, deciding to leave the translation for later if there was time.

"Yeah, although the energy readings are still steady," Dr. Bill Lee said. "Whatever's causing them doesn't appear to have suffered the same fate."

"Well, we know from past experience that Goa'uld technology can run by itself, sometimes for decades or more without maintenance," Sam said, glancing about to try to see if she could identify a source for the readings.

The walls appeared seamless, and there were no obvious indentations or any other indications of an access panel, which meant that there had to be some sort of secret compartment. Sam joined Daniel in examining the walls, trying to see if she could find any indication of where the power source would have been hidden.

"Still, I see no real purpose for this place," Bill said, glancing around, a confused frown knitting his brow. "Doctor Jackson?"

"Hmm?" Daniel asked, having only been partially aware of the conversation going on around him. "Oh, I have no idea. The glyphs seem to suggest some sort of religious ritual, but I'm having trouble with the dialect."

Teal'c, who had been examining part of the back wall, turned to his companions. "It is a dialect with which I am unfamiliar. It will take some time to decipher the meaning of these writings."

"Well, I guess I'll get the scanning equipment set up," Bill said. "If we can get some more detailed readings, I might be able to identify the exact location of the power source."

Bill busied himself with setting up his equipment while Daniel returned his attention to the inscriptions on the walls. Teal'c returned to the temple entrance to keep watch while Sam helped Bill get set up. Despite the General's words, identifying the power source was a tempting mystery, and she planned to be involved in solving it.

~&O&~

"You know, this place kinda reminds me of Kalimdor," Bill said, as he and Sam finished setting up the equipment.

They had some of their instruments set up on a stack of boxes, and the laptop sitting on the altar itself. Sam was busy calibrating their readings while Bill finished hooking everything up.

"I am not familiar with that planetary designation," Teal'c said from his place near the entry.

"What? Oh, it's not a planetary—well I suppose it is, sort of—since Azeroth is a planet," Bill babbled on a bit. Teal'c turned his head and raised his eyebrow, stopping Bill in his tracks. "It's a continent on the planet Azeroth. From World of Warcraft."

"World of Warcraft?" Sam asked, glancing up from the laptop.

"Yeah, it's an MMORPG," Bill said. Upon seeing confusion in more than one pair of eyes, he explained. "A Massively Multi-player Online Role Playing Game. I have a buddy who got me a beta copy of the newest release."

Teal'c still had a slightly confused look on his face, but he returned his gaze to the landscape in front of the temple. Sam smiled and glanced at Daniel, who met her gaze with a smile of his own. He then shrugged and returned his attention to the temple walls.

"Yeah, I've been playing for a while," Bill said, almost absently as he fiddled with various dials and knobs on the equipment. "It's actually quite fascinating. You see, you create an avatar—basically a fantasy likeness of yourself—and you go on quests, acquiring things or solving problems. It's a lot like what we do at the SGC, actually. Except—"

"Hey, Bill," Sam interrupted. "I'm getting a spike in the readings."

"Hmm? Oh, that's interesting," Bill said, checking the readouts. "I think—"

Anything else he would have said was cut off when a beam of energy lanced out from the wall behind the altar, striking Sam in the back. She crumpled over the laptop she'd been monitoring with a grunt. Daniel dropped his notebook and reached her just as she started sliding off the altar. He caught her easily and gently lowered her to the ground.

Bill and Teal'c looked at each other before rushing to where Sam lay unconscious. Checking for a pulse, Daniel heaved a sigh of relief when he found one, steady under his fingers.

Bill glanced behind him at the readouts on the monitors. "Well that's funny," he said.

"What's funny?" Daniel asked, almost afraid of what the other man might say.

"Well, after that huge spike, the power readings have dropped off," he said. "I doubt we'd even detect them with the MALP now."

Daniel turned around and saw Teal'c examining the wall where the energy beam emanated from. "Find anything?"

"I do not see where the beam originated from," he said, casting a concerned glance at his companions. "Is Colonel Carter well?"

"Well, aside from being unconscious, I don't think she's hurt," Daniel said.

"Then perhaps we should leave this place until we are certain we are no longer in danger," Teal'c suggested.

"Probably not a bad idea," Daniel said.

"Whatever it was doesn't appear to be working anymore, but I don't know how long that'll last," Bill said, glancing at the readouts, the worry clear in his tone.

"Okay," Daniel said, "let's get Sam back to the SGC. We can try to figure out what happened once we get there."

Teal'c stepped forward and leaned his staff weapon against the altar before scooping Sam up. He turned and made his way out of the temple, not waiting for the others. Bill closed and disconnected the laptop, tucking it under his arm as Daniel picked up his pack and stuffed the notebook he'd been using inside. He grabbed Teal'c's staff weapon, and the two men followed Teal'c out of the temple structure and towards the gate.

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

Notes and disclaimers in Chapter 1...

~&O&~

The team hit the ramp, arriving at the bottom just as the medics arrived with the gurney for Sam.

"What happened?" Jack asked. He'd rushed into the gateroom as soon as the emergency call had come through the gate only to find the CO of his top team unconscious and the rest of the team unhurt but a bit confused.

"We were just getting set up," Bill said, beginning the explanation, sounding as confused as he looked, "when the energy readings started to spike. The next thing we knew, Colonel Carter was hit with some sort of energy beam and fell unconscious."

"Energy beam?" Jack asked sharply as he watched Sam being taken from the gateroom.

"It all happened so fast, none of us saw where it came from," Daniel said.

"Was it some sort of weapon? Maybe a booby trap?" Jack asked next.

"I do not believe it was a trap, booby or otherwise," Teal'c said, earning a smirk from Jack. "We were in the temple structure for some time before the incident, and we did not notice anything amiss."

Jack sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "Okay, get your post-mission checks. We'll debrief in an hour."

Nods and murmurs of assent followed Jack as he turned and headed back for his office. The others turned over what equipment they still had and made their way out of the gateroom and towards the infirmary, each one replaying the events of the last several hours, trying to determine if things could have been done differently.

~&O&~

The debriefing had been short and less than informative. They had each recounted what they remembered, which hadn't been much. Hopeful that they could learn more by studying what they had brought back, they agreed to reconvene in the briefing room to go over their findings.

That had been three hours ago, and they were all back, hopeful that one of them had the key to solving the mystery. There was one notable addition to their group: Doctor Brightman had joined them to give the General an update on Sam's condition and weigh in on the likely causes.

"Okay, first things first," Jack said, kicking off the briefing. "How's Carter?"

Dr Brightman took a deep breath. "Well, physically, she's fine. I've found no adverse effects due to contact with the alien energy source."

"But she's still unconscious?" Jack asked.

Brightman nodded. "And there's no reason that I can find. Her EEG is showing Delta wave brain activity, similar to what you'd expect in someone who's deeply asleep. We've tried direct stimulus as well as administering a drug stimulant, but neither of them had any effect. I'm reluctant to try anything more drastic until we understand her condition a little better."

"Bill?" Jack asked, turning to the next item on the agenda.

"Well, I've analyzed the readings we took before the thing … went off," he said. "It appears to have been building a charge. Once it reached maximum saturation, it … went off."

"Any idea what triggered it?"

Bill shook his head. "No, no idea. I don't think it was a booby trap," he said, anticipating the General's next question. "If it was, it would already have been primed, and should have gone off when we arrived."

"Indeed," Teal'c said, speaking for the first time. "The energy readings we detected were steady until the moment the device activated. That would not suggest a Goa'uld trap of any kind."

"So, then, what is it?" Jack asked.

Bill glanced around at Daniel and Teal'c. Each looked back at him with the same blank gaze. Turning back to Jack, he answered the only way he could. "We don't know, exactly," he said, shoulders slumping slightly.

"Daniel?" Jack asked. "Do you have something to add?"

"Teal'c and I have been working on a translation, but it's been slow going due to the obscure dialect," Daniel said, weighing his words carefully. "But from what we can determine, the temple was intended for some sort of ritual."

"Ritual?" Jack asked, clearly skeptical.

"The inscriptions say something about choosing, and that the seeker will have his or her questions answered," he said, continuing the explanation.

"Could you possibly be more vague, Daniel?" Jack asked, going from skeptical to annoyed at light speed.

Daniel dropped his chin and squeezed his eyes shut, then looked over at Teal'c, who merely inclined his head in a gesture of acquiescence.

"Basically, it says that the seeker will be put to sleep, and that only the kiss of the seeker's one true love will wake him or her," he said, rushing to get it all out before he died of embarrassment.

"You're kidding, right?"

"I wish I were," Daniel muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose under his glasses. "Look, we know from past experience that the Goa'uld tend to solve their problems with technology. This appears to be their attempt at solving relationship issues."

"So, basically what you're saying is that we need Carter's Prince Charming to come kiss her and wake her up," Jack summed up the briefing.

"Prince Charming?" Daniel asked, slightly confused.

"You said she's in a deep sleep, right?" Jack asked, turning to Dr Brightman. At her nod, he turned back to Daniel. "And only the kiss of her one true love will wake her?" At Daniel's nod, he spread his hands wide on the table. "Sleeping Beauty Syndrome. And the only way to wake her is to get her Prince Charming to come kiss her."

"Sleeping Beauty Syndrome," Daniel repeated, astonished. "Look, Jack, it's not that easy. The original legend of the Sleeping Beauty had her asleep for a hundred years, at the end of which she just woke up."

"That's not how I remember Disney doing it," Jack said indignantly.

"Sleeping Beauty was a Grimm Brothers' fairy tale long before Walt Disney decided to make it into a movie."

"Still," Jack said, "it's worth a try. I doubt the Goa'uld ever heard of the Grimm Brothers or Walt Disney. Besides, I prefer the Disney version anyway."

"O'Neill may be correct," Teal'c said, earning four astonished looks. "It would seem logical that the Goa'uld would make the solution easy to find and implement."

"That would be a first," Jack muttered. "Doc, you got any objection to a little unconventional therapy?"

"At this point, I'm afraid that may be our best hope," Brightman said. "I can try administering a stimulant again, but I doubt I'll have any better luck this time. There's no physical reason for her to still be unconscious. If what Dr Jackson and Teal'c are saying is true, her mind may just be waiting for the proper trigger."

Jack nodded, wincing slightly. "Okay, Doc. Do what you can. In the meantime, somebody better call Pete."

Daniel and Teal'c once again looked at each other, then looked at Jack, who merely looked back at them, blinking, waiting for a volunteer. "I guess I'd better go call Pete," Daniel finally said.

"Keep me posted," Jack said to the table at large. Rising, he headed off to his office.

"He's never gonna believe this," Daniel said.

"Perhaps you should refrain from explaining the situation until he arrives, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c suggested.

"You're probably right," Daniel said. "The less I tell him, the less likely he'll be to freak out."

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed.

"In the meantime, I'm going to see what else I can get from the readings we took," Bill said. "I may be able to figure out how the energy discharge triggered Colonel Carter's coma." Bill winced at the withering looks he got from both men in the room. "I'm just gonna … go back to my office now," he said, pointing at the exit even as he stumbled in that direction.

When he was gone, the two men turned back to Doctor Brightman. "I'll keep you informed on her condition, but I agree with Teal'c: the less you tell Pete the better. At least until he gets here and you can explain things fully."

Finally, the teammates were alone in the briefing room. "I guess I'll go call Pete," Daniel said, gathering his notes. He turned and made for the door, leaving Teal'c the lone remaining occupant.

Teal'c rose and moved to look down on the gateroom two floors below. His time among the Taur'i had shown him many things, but this was by far the strangest. Sighing imperceptibly, he retreated from the room.

~&O&~

Jack paced back and forth in front of the elevator, waiting for the doors to open. He wished he had his yoyo with him, but he suspected that his aide, Walter Harriman, had hidden it again, to prevent him from playing with it during phone meetings. The elevator chimed, and the doors opened, revealing Pete Shanahan.

"Colonel!" Pete exclaimed. "I'm surprised it's you meeting me. Where's Sam?"

Jack winced. "Actually, it's General now," he said, pointing to the stars on his uniform.

"Oh, right," Pete said, nodding his head. "Sam mentioned something about that. Who's idea was that?"

Now Jack was frowning. What did Sam see in this doofus? "Actually, it was the President's idea," he said, throwing around a little weight and wondering again why he'd volunteered to be the one to meet him. Oh yeah, that's right: the rest of them had begged off, leaving him the only alternative. Clearing his throat, he hitched his thumb at the hallway. "I'll take you to Carter."

Jack nodded at the SF standing behind Pete. He turned and headed down the corridor, Pete falling in beside him and the SF bringing up the rear.

"Yeah, what's up with her?" Pete asked, bouncing along beside Jack as they made their way down the hallway. "Daniel was kinda vague."

"Yes, Daniel does vague very well," Jack said.

"There's nothing wrong, is there?" Pete asked. His initial reaction had been excitement at the notion of getting to go back to the SGC, but that excitement had faded some, and now worry was creeping in.

"No, no, nothing's wrong," Jack said, then winced. He hated lying to the guy, especially when it was his girlfriend, which only caused him to wince more. He was going to have to stop doing that if he wanted to keep him in the dark until they got to Carter's room.

"So, where we headed?" Pete asked, enthusiasm firmly back in place. "The Stargate? 'Cuz I've never seen the—"

"We're not headed for the Stargate," Jack said. He was glad they were almost to the infirmary. He was getting tired of Pete already.

Pete looked around, his curiosity in full bloom. "Wait, this looks familiar," he said. He couldn't be sure, but it looked an awful lot like the infirmary. And he should know. He'd spent some time in the infirmary a while back. Not something he'd like to repeat.

"It's just up ahead," Jack said. He was hoping he could get him into Sam's room before he realized he was being lied to.

Pete slowed down as he recognized exactly where he was. Jack, realizing he was walking alone, turned and backtracked a few paces, stopping in front of the cop, hands in his pockets, looking everywhere but right at him.

"We're on the infirmary level," Pete said. "You said nothing was wrong!"

"Nothing is wrong," Jack said, wincing again and looking away. "Carter just ... won't wake up."

"What?" Pete nearly shrieked, causing nearly everyone in Sam's room to spill out into the corridor.

"Jack?" Daniel asked as he walked carefully over to the two men.

"Daniel," Jack said, glancing at his friend but failing to meet his eyes.

"What's going on?" Pete asked, this time directing his question at Daniel.

It was Daniel's turn to wince. Turning to face the other man, he put on his most pleasant smile. "There's a little problem," he said, only to be cut off by Jack's snort.

"Little, Daniel?" Jack asked. "She won't wake up. I don't think that's little."

"So, there is something wrong!" Pete said. "You told me—"

"Yes, yes, I told you," Jack said impatiently, waving the other man off. "It would seem I lied. Sue me."

"Perhaps we could take this someplace else," Dr. Brightman said from behind them, indicating the observation room just beyond where they'd stopped. She cut through the group and led the way up the short staircase, Pete, Jack, Daniel and Teal'c following behind.

Once inside, Pete took a moment to look through the glass at the room below. Sam lay on the bed, wires connecting her to heart and brain function monitors, but otherwise she did simply look like she was sleeping. The machines were beating out a familiar tune, indicating that all was normal, relatively speaking, except for the fact that she was unconscious.

Turning back to the men in the room, he saw three worried men looking back at him. Actually, he saw two worried men looking back at him. He only assumed that Teal'c was worried because his face was as stony as ever. The only telltale clue was the flexing of his jaw, which only seemed to show up when he was agitated. Of course, he'd only ever seen Teal'c agitated, so he didn't really know if the man possessed any other looks.

"Mr. Shanahan," Dr. Brightman said, dragging his attention back to the matter at hand. "Colonel Carter was exposed to some sort of energy burst that induced a coma-like state that we can't seem to break her out of. We've tried a variety of different treatments with no success. Dr. Jackson would like to try something a bit more ... unconventional ... but he needs your help."

"My help?" Pete asked. "Sam and I haven't been dating all that long. I don't have medical power of attorney, so I can't give you permission." He turned to Jack. "You're the General. Order them to do it."

Jack winced again. "It's not that simple."

"We don't need you to sign anything," Daniel said, glancing at Jack. "We actually need you to go out on a limb with us."

"What are you talking about?" Pete asked, frustration now leaking into his tone. Turning suspicious eyes to Daniel, he asked, "Does this have something to do with the Stargate?"

"Sam was exposed to this energy burst on a mission, yes," Daniel said. "From what we know about the planet, the temple we were exploring was meant to settle ... relationship issues."

"And what, exactly, does that have to do with Sam being in a coma?"

"Oh for cryin' out loud, Daniel," Jack exclaimed. Turning to Pete, he said, "It turned her into Sleeping Beauty, and now we need her Prince Charming to kiss her so she'll wake up."

"I think I need to sit down," Pete muttered, falling into a chair. He sat with his head in his hands for a long moment, digesting the news. As ridiculous as it might have once seemed, he knew these people did ridiculous for a living. "So, let me get this straight," he said, looking up once he'd recovered his wits. "Sam was on a mission when she got zapped by some ... energy ... thing ... that put her to sleep, and now you think that if I kiss her, she'll wake up."

"Exactly!" Jack said, looking at Daniel as he waved his hands at Pete as if he'd just given them the answer to the meaning of life.

"What gave you the idea?"

"Huh?" Jack asked, turning back to Pete.

"The idea that a kiss would wake her up," Pete said. "What gave you the idea?"

"Ah, that," Jack said. He swept his hand out. "Daniel?"

Daniel took a deep breath, worrying the back of his neck with his hand. "The writings on the temple wall are a sort of instruction manual on how the whole thing works. Teal'c and I translated it, and that's what it says to do."

"And why, exactly, would someone build something this wacky and, dare I say, completely pointless?"

"I've been askin' myself the same question for years," Jack muttered under his breath, earning a glare from Daniel.

"The Goa'uld do not usually build such devices, preferring to control their slaves by the use of fear and intimidation," Teal'c said. "However, the Goa'uld who built this temple believed that the most expedient way to settle issues of marital claim was to utilize this energy beam to help the subconscious minds of the persons involved to make a choice, thereby freeing her for more … important work. She was known to be among the more benevolent of the System Lords."

"She?" Pete aksed, his head popping up to meet Teal'c's eyes. "Not that wacked out chick from last year?"

"This is a different Goa'uld," Teal'c said.

"And you're sure this'll work?" Pete asked.

"Reasonably sure," Daniel said.

"But not totally sure," Pete said. "Doc?"

Dr. Brightman sighed. "Medically speaking, I've exhausted all my options. I'm willing to let them try this because there isn't anything else I can do."

Pete thought that over. What else could he do? Sam trusted these people. "Okay," he said. "Let's try it, then."

He was dubious, to say the least, but they had more experience dealing with this than he did. Way more experience. In fact, he'd thought that his first time encountering something alien would be his last time encountering something alien. They did a good job, as far as he knew, keeping the weird alien stuff from getting out of the mountain. It didn't scare him, but he figured the less he actually knew about what they did, the better.

Standing, he followed the doctor out of the observation lounge and into the Twilight Zone.

To be continued...


	3. Chapter 3

Notes and disclaimer in Chapter 1...

~&O&~

_"_So, all I need to do is kiss her?" Pete asked for the third time.

Jack huffed impatiently from his place behind Pete. Daniel, standing next to Teal'c at the foot of the bed, glared at him, and Jack subsided. Dr. Brightman, standing on the other side of the bed, looked at Pete over Sam's unconscious form and smiled sympathetically.

"Just kiss her, Mr. Shanahan," she said, repeating her earlier instructions.

"On the lips?" Pete asked. He was stalling and he knew it, but he just couldn't believe what he was about to do.

"Yes, you doofus, on the lips," Jack said from behind him.

"Jack," Daniel said in warning.

"Oh fer cryin' out loud!" Jack threw up his hands and walked a few paces away, running his hands through his hair until it stood on end. A few deep breaths later and he was back beside Pete, nodding apologetically at the doctor.

"I know, General," she said quietly. She knew how much the Colonel meant to all the men in the room. Looking at Pete, she smiled. "Go ahead."

Pete glanced around him at Sam's friends. He didn't really relish doing this with an audience. He felt ridiculous but, knowing he had no choice, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes and leaned over. Touching his lips to hers, he held his breath, expecting to feel her stir beneath him. When nothing happened, he pulled back and glanced worriedly between Sam and the doctor.

"Nothing's happening," he said needlessly.

"Give it a minute," Daniel said. "We don't know how long this should take. There wasn't anything in the instructions."

"Should the effect not have been immediate, Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c asked.

Daniel glanced at the doctor and then at Pete. His shoulders dropped minutely. "Yes, I'd imagine so," he said.

"What does that mean?" Pete asked. He glanced from one face to the next, their worry escalating his own.

"It means she didn't wake up," Jack said, stating the obvious.

"It's more than that, Jack," Daniel said quietly.

They all knew what it meant, but it seemed no one was willing to put it into words. Pete finally broke the silence.

"What's the more you're not telling me?"

Teal'c was the one who spoke up. "It indicates that you are not Colonel Carter's true love, Pete Shanahan."

"I'm not—what?" he asked. Now he was getting angry. "If you're suggesting that Sam and I aren't in love, then you're way off base."

"I am not suggesting it," Teal'c said impassively.

"But you just said—"

"The inscription on the wall states that 'only one who loves and is loved truly and well can break the sleeper from the spell,'" Daniel said quickly, hoping to avert a fight. "If your kiss didn't wake her, then maybe you're not as close as you thought you were."

"Not as—" Pete was really steamed now. "I don't believe this! Maybe you just got the translation wrong," he said, pointing an angry finger at Daniel.

"Believe me, at this point, I wish I had," Daniel said. "But I don't think it's wrong. I think we've just got the wrong guy."

"You are correct, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said. "Perhaps it is O'Neill who should attempt to wake Colonel Carter."

"Me?" Jack exclaimed.

"You?" Pete asked at the same time, turning to look at the General.

"Teal'c's right," Daniel said, turning speculative eyes on Jack. "If it isn't Pete, it's gotta be you."

"And you know this because?" Jack asked, waving his hands in a 'get on with it' gesture.

Teal'c and Daniel looked at each other, and then they turned as one to look at Jack, who looked back at them, his expression blank. None of them wanted to say it out loud, but each was thinking the same thing. It was perhaps the elephant in the room of SG-1 that Jack and Sam had always had a thing for each other. Teal'c had confided to Daniel what had happened during the Za'tarc testing, feeling that he had a right to know since it was his team too, but they hadn't talked about it since.

"Oh, all right," Jack said. He stepped up beside Pete and glared down at him meaningfully.

Pete, not sure what had just happened but fairly certain it had been significant, stepped back a pace to make room for him. His mind was still stuck on the fact that his kiss hadn't woken up his own girlfriend, so the impact of what was about to happen hadn't really sunk in.

"Hell of a way to have a first kiss," Daniel muttered under his breath.

"It is, in fact, not their first kiss," Teal'c said.

Jack's head swung around, meeting Daniel's surprised gaze. He shrugged. "Groundhog Day," was all he said. The meaning was clear.

"Only you, Jack," he said, shaking his head.

Jack turned his attention back to Sam. This was so not how he'd imagined this going—and he'd imagined it plenty. Glancing at the doctor, who gave him an encouraging smile, he took a deep breath and leaned in. Closing his eyes, he brushed his lips against Sam's, feeling the remembered thrill race along his nerves at the intimate contact.

Pulling back, he looked at her face, expecting her to open her eyes and smile up at him. Nothing happened.

"Hah!" Pete exclaimed from behind him. "So, not her true love after all!"

Daniel frowned at Pete's outburst, but had to agree.

"Okay, Daniel," Jack said, turning to give Daniel an expectant look. "Now what? Think T should try it?"

"I will not kiss Colonel Carter," Teal'c said. "It would be … inappropriate."

"Teal'c's right," Daniel said. "They've never had that type of relationship."

"Well, I don't think we can get Narim or Martouf in here, so … "

Pete just watched the exchange, left as little more than an observer at this point. He didn't think the others even remembered he was there. "Are you sure you got the instructions right?" he asked. All eyes turned to him, then swung to Daniel.

He sighed. "I'm gonna head back to my office and recheck the inscription. Maybe there's something I missed."

He ambled off towards the elevator, leaving the rest to watch him go.

"I think I'm gonna go beat the crap out of a punching bag," Jack said. He didn't want to go back to his office, knowing Walter would have corralled more paperwork for him in his absence, but he needed to be doing something and that sounded better than any other alternative.

"I will join you, O'Neill," Teal'c said, turning to follow his friend out of the room.

Pete watched them go. He envied them having some way to keep their minds off what was going on. He didn't have any such distraction, unless he wanted to head back to Denver and work. Glancing down at Sam, he dismissed that idea. Even if his relationship with Sam turned out not to be what he thought it was, he couldn't leave until he knew she'd be okay.

"Would you like something to eat or drink, Mr. Shanahan?" Dr. Brightman asked, breaking into his thoughts.

"Some coffee would be nice," he said, smiling gratefully at her.

"I'll have one of the nurses bring you down a cup," she said. Pulling a stool from a dark corner of the room, she set it next to the bed. "If you need anything else, just press the call button."

And with that, she squeezed his shoulder and left the room, leaving a very confused Pete Shanahan to wonder what had just happened.

~&O&~

Daniel sat in his office, staring at the monitor on his desk, open notebooks and pages strewn about him. The office was nearly pitch black, the only light source the meager lamp on his desk. Not that he'd noticed—he was too deep in thought.

The image on the screen was a still shot of the section of the wall at the temple that gave instructions for what to do with the "sleeper" once the ritual had been completed. Daniel had been staring at it for the last hour, hoping that the glyphs would somehow change, or else he'd have a flash of insight that would answer the one question occupying his mind: why hadn't it worked?

He'd wondered if he'd mistranslated something—misinterpreted the glyphs somehow—or if there was a section missing that he hadn't noticed. The instructions were written in a rare, little used dialect of Goa'uld that neither he nor Teal'c had encountered before. But he'd gone over the translation a dozen times, both before they'd called Pete and after. He didn't think they'd gotten it wrong, and nothing was missing that he could find.

The instructions said that the sleeper could only be awakened by someone that loves and is truly loved. That could mean anything, but Daniel knew from experience that the Goa'uld were rarely oblique in their inscriptions. So it had to be someone that Sam loved and who loved her in return.

Pete's kiss should have woken her, but even though it didn't, that wasn't a big deal. All it suggested was that somewhere in Sam's mind, she had doubts—either about Pete's feelings for her or her feelings for him. But Jack—it should have worked. Daniel knew they had, at one time, had less than professional feelings for each other. Only a fool could have missed that. But Jack's kiss hadn't woken her either. And Teal'c—as he'd so bluntly pointed out—was out of the question.

Which meant that he was the only one of her close male friends left. Daniel tugged his glasses off his face and rubbed at his eyes, sighing as he dropped back in his chair. He let his eyes drift around the room, taking it in but not really seeing it. His mind was a million miles away, give or take.

Ever since he'd returned from ascension, he'd seen everything with new eyes. He'd seen people differently, seen his life experiences in light of the greater universe out there instead of just his small corner. He noticed things now that most people wouldn't give a second thought. He'd noticed Sam.

He didn't think he was in love with her, per se. But he knew her, saw her now as more than the Colonel he called friend. There was a softness in his heart where she was concerned, one that hadn't been there before he'd ascended. Was that all that was required for this to work? He could go up to her room and kiss her, but there was no guarantee that it would work.

And if it did? What did that say about the nature of their relationship, and how it might or could change after this? And more than that, was he ready to go down that road? If he were honest with himself, he'd finally come to terms with his wife's death. He'd always been troubled by the fact that he couldn't save her, but he'd come to realize that he couldn't save everyone, much as he might like to.

He was ready to move on, but did he want it to be with Sam, despite the complications it would bring to their lives? And more importantly, did she feel that way about him? He had no evidence that she felt anything more than friendship for him, so he wasn't convinced that kissing her was the right thing to do, but what else could he do?

He sighed deeply. His thoughts, racing out of control, had circled back around to where they'd started, and he was still no closer to an answer than when he'd begun. Putting a reign on his runaway thoughts, he straightened and stretched, then resettled his glasses on his face.

"There's only one way to find out," he said to the empty room. He closed and stacked some of his reference materials, switched off his monitor and left the room.

~&O&~

Daniel slipped into the darkened room, coming to stand next to Sam's bed. It was late, and shift change had already come and gone so he hadn't encountered many people on his way down. The room was quiet, the only sounds the constant beeping of the various machines connected to Sam and the whisper of her breathing.

Hitching up one hip, Daniel settled himself on the edge of her bed. He watched her for long moments as she slept, seeming so peaceful. Reaching out, he ran his fingertips along her forehead, gently brushing her bangs aside, revealing the smooth skin of her forehead and the arch of her eyebrows. His eyes followed the contours of her face, down along the column of her neck and to her torso.

He saw the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. Reaching out again, he settled his hand above her heart and closed his eyes, feeling each beat as it pounded reassuringly in her chest, each one calming his raging nerves.

He opened his eyes again and moved his hand up to the pillow, bracing himself as he leaned down over Sam. He paused, millimeters from her face, waiting. Finally, he closed the distance between them and settled his lips over hers. Instantly he felt the sizzle of electricity over his nerves, as if he'd scuffed his feet across the floor and then touch a doorknob.

Surprised, he pulled back slightly and saw Sam's eyes suddenly pop open. "Hey, Sleeping Beauty," he whispered, a smile in his eyes. "Welcome back."

"Daniel," Sam said, then frowned in confusion. "What happened?"

Sitting up, he cocked his head. "That's a long story," he said, a small smile on his face. "Let me call Dr. Brightman, and Jack and Teal'c; then we'll talk."

She knew she was in the infirmary, could tell by the sounds and smells, but Daniel's face wasn't revealing much. Glancing over his shoulder, she saw someone in the observation room. "Why'd you call Pete?" she asked.

It was Daniel's turn to frown in confusion. Sam lifted a finger to point over his shoulder, causing him to turn and look up. Through the observation room window, he could see Pete standing, hands in his pockets, head down. There was no mistaking the look of defeat on his face.

"That's part of that long story," he said, turning back and squeezing her hand. "I'm just gonna go call the doctor."

Minutes later the room was filled with people; Dr. Brightman and her nurses were fussing over Sam, taking readings and blood samples. Daniel moved backwards until he reached the wall, trying to stay out of the way. Jack and Teal'c joined him moments later.

"She awake?" Jack asked. Daniel nodded. "How'd it happen?"

"I'd like to know the same thing," Dr. Brightman said, walking over to where the three men were standing.

Daniel rubbed his hand over his face. "I kissed her," he said quietly.

"You kissed her?" Jack exclaimed even as Teal'c's eyebrow shot up in surprise.

"So it was true," the doctor said, a hint of awe in her voice. "Did she wake up immediately?"

Daniel opened his mouth to answer, but a nurse interrupted. Dr. Brightman excused herself and returned to Sam's bed.

"Don't think you're going to get out of telling us," Jack said as he turned to Daniel.

"Wouldn't dream of it," he muttered.

Dr. Brightman returned, Sam's chart in her hands. "Well, Colonel Carter appears to be none the worse for her experiences. I'd like to keep her overnight, just as a precaution, but I don't think there will be any lasting effects."

"Then I'd like to see her before I go," Pete said from the doorway, startling them all.

To be continued...


	4. Chapter 4

Notes and disclaimer in Chapter 1...

~&O&~

Pete sat on a chair beside Sam's bed, hands clasped in his lap, not looking at her. After the initial commotion had died down, she had been moved to the main infirmary since there was no longer a need to keep her isolated. The head of the bed had been raised, and Sam was now sitting up, waiting for Pete to say something.

"What's going on, Pete?" she asked. He'd been the one that wanted to see her, but ever since he'd walked in, he'd been strangely quiet.

Finally, he looked up and gazed at her with regret in his eyes. He sighed, then began to speak. "I guess I just wanted to make sure you were okay and everything before I left."

Sam frowned. That didn't explain anything. "I'm fine, Pete. Just a little confused is all," she said, frustrated. "No one's told me what happened yet, and you're acting like your dog just died."

"I know," he said, shrugging. "It's better if they explain it. I don't really understand what happened anyway." He paused then, collecting his thoughts. "Sam, are you happy with me?"

"What?" she asked. The question had come out of left field, and she was more confused than ever. "Of course I am, Pete," she said impatiently.

"But you're not in love with me," he said so quietly she almost missed it.

Sam winced. He wasn't supposed to know that. She enjoyed spending time with him, loved how being with him made her feel, but she hadn't gotten that giddy, head over heels feeling for him that she'd expected. Then again, she'd thought there was plenty of time for that. But maybe she was only fooling herself.

"No," she said, "I'm not in love with you." She saw his shoulders slump ever so slightly, and rushed to explain. "It's not that I don't want to be, it just hasn't happened yet."

Pete gave a wan smile. "It's okay, Sam," he said, reaching out to pat her hand. She grabbed his and held on when he made to get up. "I think it's best that I go now."

"Don't," she said. "We can talk about this."

"I have to," he said, trying to control his tears. He wanted to get out of there with just a little of his dignity intact. "You're not in love with me, and I think I deserve to be with someone who loves me with all her heart, don't you?"

Sam looked down, wincing at the pain she heard in his voice. "Yes," she said, slightly ashamed of herself for trying to force the issue. She wasn't in love with him and didn't expect to be. She was just tired of being alone, but asking Pete to stay with her would doom him to loneliness too. Looking up at him, she gave him a small smile. "You're a great guy, Pete. I hope you find someone who deserves you."

Pete smiled and leaned down, dropping a chaste kiss on her forehead. "Goodbye, Sam," he said, then turned and headed for the door.

Sam sat for long minutes after he'd gone, staring at the empty doorway, wondering when she'd lost complete control of her life. Everything was upside down, and she still had no idea how it had gotten that way. She hoped her teammates were on their way to explain it, because if they didn't arrive soon she was going to defy orders and start a level by level search for them. And they wouldn't enjoy what would likely happen next.

~&O&~

"Alright, Daniel, out with it," Jack said.

Daniel was standing in the corridor outside the main infirmary, waiting for Pete to finish talking with Sam. Jack and Teal'c, along with Dr. Brightman, had cornered him almost immediately after Sam had been moved. He knew what they wanted, but he wasn't sure he could explain it to them. He wasn't sure he could explain it to himself.

"I sat in my office staring at the translation for the longest time, trying to figure out if there was something I'd missed," he said.

"We did not err in our translation, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c said.

"I know," Daniel said. "But I wanted to be sure. And if kissing Pete—her boyfriend—didn't wake her up, and kissing Jack didn't do it, and if you were out of the question, who did that leave?"

"You," Dr. Brightman said. "But how did you know it would work?"

Daniel sighed. "I didn't, not for sure."

"Is there something you want to tell us, Daniel?" Jack asked, sarcastic tone firmly in place.

"Do you mean do I want to confess my undying love for Sam?"

"Something like that," Jack said, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"I'm not in love with Sam," Daniel said.

"But the kiss worked," Jack said.

"I know," he said. "The only thing I can figure is that there's potential there—potential that both of us are aware of."

"So, do I need to have a talk with the President about a special dispensation for you two?" Jack asked.

Daniel looked at Jack—took a good look at his friend. His expression was bland, giving nothing away, but Daniel knew better. Underneath the blank exterior he could see the pain. Jack had probably harbored hopes and dreams about a relationship with Sam for longer than anyone realized. And here he was, standing here telling his friend that those dreams might never come true.

"I don't know, Jack," Daniel said. "I mean I haven't even talked to Sam yet. And even if she was interested, I don't know if I am."

"Sha're's been gone a long time, Daniel," Jack said gently. "It's time to move on."

"Indeed," Teal'c said. "She would not wish for you to be alone."

"I know, and I put that all to bed a long time ago," he said. "But that doesn't mean I'm ready to take up with anyone, much less one of my best friends. Not to mention the impact this might have on the team. Things are already different. I can't take back what happened."

"After everything you've been through, Daniel," Jack said, laying a hand on his shoulder, "I think we could work something out."

Daniel shrugged a shoulder, and Jack dropped his hand, sharing a look with Teal'c.

"I'd imagine that, right now, Mr. Shanahan is breaking up with her," Dr. Brightman said helpfully, bringing their attention back to the situation at hand. "My guess is she's not all that sad to see him go. And neither are you."

Daniel gazed sharply at her. This woman was different than Janet Frazier in so many ways, but if there was one thing about her that reminded him of his dear friend, it was that she was incredibly perceptive. He'd liked Pete, but only in the abstract. Having met the man and knowing he had endangered his friends had definitely skewed his opinion of him, and it hadn't been a favorable exchange.

"You're probably right," Daniel said. "Still—"

Whatever he was about to say died in his throat as the man in question emerged from the infirmary. He walked over to their group, head down and hands shoved in his pockets. He gave every indication of a man who'd been in a fight and lost.

"Is everything okay, Mr. Shanahan?" Dr. Brightman asked, concerned.

"I think I'm ready to leave, now," Pete said, ignoring the question and turning his attention to Jack.

"It's late," Jack said, checking his watch. "Why don't you stay for a few hours, catch some sleep before you head back."

Pete shook his head. "No, I think I'd just like to get on the road."

"Are you sure you're gonna be okay to drive?" Daniel asked.

Pete looked at his feet, sadness rolling off him in waves. "I'll be fine." He paused, then looked at Daniel. "Take care of her."

And with that, Pete headed down the corridor, an SF trailing behind him. Daniel watched him go, feeling guilty for having been the cause, directly or indirectly, of the end of his relationship.

"Perhaps now would be a good time to speak to Colonel Carter," Teal'c said after the other man disappeared around a corner.

"We should let Sam rest," Daniel said. "I can talk to her in the morning."

"Colonel Carter has had enough sleep for a few days," Dr. Brightman said. "She's wide awake and not going anywhere." She speared Daniel with her gaze. "And she deserves an explanation about what happened."

Daniel sighed and dropped his gaze to the floor. Nodding his head, he looked at Jack, who gave a small smile of encouragement. "Let's go," he said, slapping the archeologist on the back. "We'll go say hi to Carter, then you two can chat."

~&O&~

"So, Carter," Jack called out cheerfully as the three of them approached Sam's bed in a quiet corner of the infirmary. "Glad to see those baby blues wide open again."

"Thank you, sir," Sam said, smiling at her friends as they gathered around her bed.

"It is good to see you well, Colonel Carter," Teal'c said, bowing slightly in agreement.

"Thanks, Teal'c," she said. "I'm not sure but I don't think I'll need to sleep for about a month."

"Just as long as you don't overwork yourself," Jack said. "I'll be sending someone to shoo you out of your lab just like always."

"Point taken, sir," she said. "But really, I can probably get a lot of my research projects cleared now that I won't be needing sleep."

"Ah ah," Jack said, wagging a finger at her. "Just because you don't need sleep doesn't mean you don't need rest."

Sam smiled, knowing she wouldn't win this battle. She glanced around at her friends, noticing that Daniel seemed a bit subdued. He hadn't said anything since they'd arrived, and he was just standing quietly beside her bed, hands in his pockets, head down, seeming a million miles away.

Dragging her attention back to the General, she asked the question they'd all been waiting for. "Sir, what happened to me?"

"Ah," Jack said, glancing at Daniel. "That's a good question, and one that Daniel would be more than happey to answer. Suffice it to say that SG-3 has been back to the planet and it appears that the alien doohickey burned itself out after your little encounter. I'll let Daniel explain the rest," Jack said, ignoring the daggers Daniel was shooting him. "We'll check back later, Carter."

Jack waved to Sam and then turned to leave. Teal'c gave a small bow and followed his friend out of the infirmary.

Daniel just watched them go, knowing he'd been set up but unable to do anything about it. Turning back to Sam, he saw the expectant look on her face. He gave a sigh and pulled up a chair, plopping down and eyeing her speculatively.

"What's the last thing you remember?" he asked her.

"I remember Bill was talking about World of Warcraft," Sam said, rolling her eyes at her colleague. "I think we were taking some power readings. I'd noticed something strange in the readings, and was about to make an adjustment on the program. And then—nothing, until I woke up with you hovering over me. Did you kiss me?"

"Yes, I kissed you," Daniel confirmed, a slight blush suffusing his cheeks.

"And why, exactly, did you kiss me?"

"The reading Bill was excited about actually turned out to be an energy beam, generated from an emitter embedded in the wall of the temple," Daniel said, neatly sidestepping her question.

"Let me guess, it hit me and rendered me unconscious," Sam said, letting his evasive answer go for the moment.

"Yep," he said, nodding in agreement.

"Was it supposed to do that?" she asked.

"Apparently," Daniel said.

"Daniel, what's going on? I thought I was okay?" Sam asked, getting worried and a little frustrated at his evasive answers.

"No, no, you're fine," he said in a rush, trying to allay her fears. "We were right about the temple. Astarte did build it, and her followers probably used it extensively, judging by the worn stone on the altar."

"Were you able to translate the writings on the wall? Did they tell you anything about the temple and what it was used for?"

"When we got you back to the SGC, Dr. Brightman tried everything she could to wake you up, but nothing worked," he said. "Teal'c and I translated the inscriptions, trying to figure out if what happened to you was the way it was supposed to work."

"And?"

"And," Daniel said, "it worked exactly like it should. Apparently Astarte had the temple built because there were some issues with the people in her territory respecting relationship boundaries. Rather than deal with it personally, she built the temple. Remember, in Phoenician mythology, she was the goddess of love and fertility."

Sam nodded her head. "I remember. She was also worshipped as a god of war, but what Goa'uld isn't."

"Right," Daniel said, warming to his subject. "I guess there were some planets she'd conquered that had problems with men stealing other men's wives. So, she devised the temple so she didn't have to always be there as judge or arbitrator. The energy beam induces a deep, delta sleep that can only be broken one way: you have to settle the claim."

"I have a feeling I know where this is going," Sam said as she groaned, covering her face with her hand.

"You'd think so," Daniel said. At Sam's frown, he went on. "The inscription reads, in part, 'only one who loves and is loved truly and well can break the sleeper from the spell', so we figured that if we got your boyfriend up here, he could kiss you and you'd wake up."

"Ah, so that's why you called Pete," Sam said, the light finally dawning.

"Yes, only it didn't work," Daniel said.

"That would explain why he just broke up with me," she told him, darkness flickering momentarily on her face.

"I'm sorry about that," he said sincerely.

Sam shook her head. "Don't be. I'm not. I knew I wasn't in love with him. I guess I was hoping that, sooner or later, I'd feel more than I did. It was stupid, but at least it's over now."

"Still, I'm sorry," he said.

"So, is that why you kissed me?" she asked, an impish smile stealing over her face.

"Actually, Jack took a stab at it," he said, laughing at the comical look on her face. "Well, you two did once have a thing for each other," he said, giving his own devilish grin.

"Don't remind me," Sam said, once again covering her face. "Not one of my finer moments."

"I guess you don't have a thing for him anymore," Daniel said.

"I haven't for a while now," she said. "It was a silly school girl crush, and I let it get way out of hand. He's someone I admire and respect, and after Jonas, that was really important. But eventually I got over it."

"Ah," Daniel said, nodding in understanding. "So, as you've probably guessed, Jack's kiss didn't wake you either."

"Is that when you tried?"

"Sort of," he said. "Pete was pretty steamed that, not only did you appear to not have strong feelings for him, but that our assumption about Jack was wrong too."

"Oh, no, tell me you didn't have the General kiss me in front of Pete," she begged.

"Sorry," Daniel said. "We really thought it would work, and we were eager to wake you up. When it didn't, I decided to go back to my office and double check my work."

"You had to know your translation was accurate," Sam said. "So what's the real reason you went back to your office?"

Daniel looked down at his hands, clasped tightly in his lap. "I knew I'd gotten it right," he said, confirming her statement. "Which meant that, out of all your closest male friends, I was the last one left."

"You mean Teal'c didn't try first?" she said, teasing him, hoping to get him to lighten up.

"He said it would be 'inappropriate'," Daniel said, smiling up at her. "But if I was really the last option, I wanted to be sure. I know that we've never talked about … that … sort of thing. Together … us … romance …" he said, stuttering to a halt.

"No, we haven't," Sam said, looking down at her own hands as they lay in her lap.

"You have to understand, Sam, that I'm not in love with you," he said, looking into her face, willing her to meet his eyes. When she did, he went on. "But that doesn't mean I couldn't fall in love with you. Someday."

"But you had to be sure it's something you could be ready for," she said, correctly reading his thoughts.

"Yeah," Daniel said. "It would seem you've had similar thoughts."

Sam glanced down and then back up at him. "Yeah," she said quietly, giving a small shrug. "I'd have to be dead not to realize that the two of us could really have something special, but after everything with Sha're and then you ascending, I knew there might never be a time when it could happen."

"Sam, I made my peace with what happened to Sha're a long time ago," he said. "And I think after I descended I finally realized what's truly important in life. People. Relationships. And not missing them when you have the chance."

Sam reached out her hand, and Daniel slipped his into it, leaning forward to touch his forehead to their clasped hands.

"I can't guarantee what's going to happen tomorrow, much less ten minutes from now, but I do know I don't want to wait until the timing is right. The timing may never be right again, and your ascension proved that to me beyond doubt," Sam said, nearly whispering through the tears clogging her throat.

Daniel looked up then, and saw the look of sincerity on Sam's face, and the tears swimming in her eyes. A smile bloomed into place on his own face at the hope he saw there. Standing up, he settled himself next to Sam on the bed. He reached out and laid his hand beside her cheek.

"So, Sleeping Beauty, would you care to go out on a date with me?"

"Will you promise to be my Prince Charming?" Sam asked, a smile breaking out on her face.

"I thought I already was," Daniel said, low and smooth.

Those words sent a shiver down Sam's spine. "Absolutely."

"To the date?" he asked.

Sam nodded. "And the Prince Charming. You can charm me anytime you like."

Daniel smiled and leaned in, brushing a kiss softly across her lips. "Just promise me we don't have to go through this again," he said as he pulled back.

"I've got you now," she said. "I have a feeling that, even if it was still functional, Astarte's little toy wouldn't work on me anymore. But if you'd like to take a crack at it … "

"No thanks," he said, rushing to assure her. "I've got all I need right here."

Sam and Daniel just sat and looked at each other, basking in the warm glow of the moment. Neither of them noticed Teal'c, standing just inside the infirmary doors, a small smile playing at his lips. For a Goa'uld, Astarte had done well, he thought to himself. Not that he'd admit that out loud to anyone, but he was pleased that for once the Goa'uld had had a positive effect on the world.

~Finis

* * *

Author's Post-script: Sorry if I faked anyone out with this story. I've been in a Sam/Daniel phase lately, and this one seemed to naturally lend itself to that pairing. And, as it turns out, it's my sister's favorite and she asked me to post it. Still, I hope you enjoyed it and I hope it somehow broadened your horizons a bit.


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